Nepal and Germany sign JDoI on skilled labour migration

Nepal and Germany have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDoI) on the Skilled Labour Migration and Knowledge Exchange at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany on Tuesday, the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin, Germany, stated in a press release, shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here today.

Ambassador of Nepal to Germany, Ram Kaji Khadka and Mr Michael van der Cammen, Director, International Affairs, German Federal Employment Agency, signed the JDoI on behalf of their respective governments in the presence of Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and Ms Leonie Gebers, State Secretary (Deputy Minister) of Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany.

The signing of the JDoI was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the high-level Nepali delegation led by the Minister and the high-level German delegation led by the State Secretary (Deputy Minister). On the occasion, the leaders of the two delegations shared views, primarily, on the agenda of Nepal-Germany bilateral relations, skilled labour migration, Nepal's commitment to legal migration, workers' welfare and social security, German language and vocational training, and circular migration.

During the meeting, the two leaders expressed happiness over the growing relations between the two countries in recent years and stated that the signing of the JDoI would be the first step in the roadmap towards fair and legal labour migration from Nepal to Germany. Minister Bhandari also expressed Nepal's willingness to collaborate with the friendly Government of Germany in all sectors of mutual benefits.

State Secretary Gebers also stated that the signing of the JDoI would open the way forward for institutional arrangement in immigrating Nepali skilled workers as per the need of the German job market. She also highlighted the positive sides of the recent German Skilled Immigration Act which has eased the process of recruiting foreign skilled workers in Germany.

 The Nepali delegation led by Minister Bhandari included Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Kewal Prasad Bhandari, the Ambassador of Nepal to Germany, and other officials from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Nepal, Berlin.

The German delegation led by Ms Gebers included the high-level officials from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Employment Agency and other relevant Departments of Germany.

Meanwhile, on October 9, 2023, the Nepali delegation held discussions with the delegation of International Labour Organization (ILO) Berlin Bureau led by Dr Annette Niederfranke, Director at the Embassy of Nepal, Berlin. During the meeting, various labour-related issues including welfare of workers, measures against the exploitation and trafficking of workers, inclusive foreign employment and reintegration of migrant workers in the country of origin were discussed.

In the afternoon, the Nepali delegation participated in an interaction programme with the Nepali diaspora living in Germany organized by the Embassy.

The Nepali delegation is holding a meeting with the representatives of private sectors of Germany today. The delegation is scheduled to leave Germany for Nepal tomorrow.